This Rockdale, Texas, native is pursuing a higher education for a higher purpose
Jacquelyn D. Childs || October 3, 2025
“Es más fácil recojer un lápiz que una pala.”
Translating to “it’s easier to pick up a pencil than a shovel,” this motto propelled one Rockdale, Texas, native to pursue higher education with a fierce purpose. Growing up, Jimena Rodriguez-Gamez worked hard next to her grandmother and parents. Her family encouraged her to use her hard-working mentality in the classroom. And she did, obtaining her associate’s degree while still in high school through the Temple College Texas Bioscience Institute.
Now she’s a senior at Texas State University set to graduate with a double major in Public Health and Spanish with a minor in Health Communication. Most recently, this student research assistant in the Department of Health and Human Performance (HHP) received a fellowship through the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health to attend the Applied Risk Communication for the 21st Century Program.
This fellowship allowed Rodriguez-Gamez to dive deeper into critical communications within public health, compounding on her education so far and furthering her understanding of the complex field.
“Being selected was an honor as I was able to not only complement my education but also proudly represent Texas State University and other first-gen students,” she said. “The fellowship and program allowed me to amplify my passion and drive to provide, create, and disseminate accurate and culturally tailored Spanish health information.”
Jimena Rodriguez-Gamez, left, poses with Dr. Kelly Damphouse, Texas State University President.
Early Dip Into Medical Education
The program was a perfect complement to her chosen education path and bolsters her original goals in the public health and Spanish-communications areas of expertise. Rodriguez-Gamez’s background as a proud Mexican American played a large role in her selection of majors and minor which she hopes to use to support the Hispanic and Latin communities.
“Growing up, I wanted to be a Spanish speaking doctor to improve the health of those who only spoke Spanish,” she said. “My early experiences pursuing medical education opportunities led me to conclude that to truly aid the Hispanic/ Latino community, I had to do more than help in one-on-one medical consultations. It made me want to pursue Public Health as opposed to Pre-Med.”
Those experiences were primarily in the summer before her senior year of high school. That summer, Rodriguez-Gamez shadowed a dentist to learn more about the medical field while also conducting cancer research at the Summer Health Care Experience (SHE) program through the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School Livestrong Cancer Institutes. While shadowing the dentist, she learned that dental costs often lead to delayed or neglected treatment in specific communities. And with SHE, she learned about cancer health disparities, health equity, and the field of public health, all culminating in the choice to pursue public health and communications.
Learning to Make a Difference
According to Rodriguez-Gamez, the Applied Risk Communication for the 21st Century Program was the perfect opportunity for her. Throughout the program, she learned how to communicate clearly when risks are high, translate research into real-world impact, understand how emotion shapes risk perception, use digital platforms, artificial intelligence, and infodemiology to design effective messages, combat misinformation and conduct social listening, and frame messages in ways that build trust and support informed decision-making.
“I was placed on this earth to be an advocate for better health outcomes through eradicating language health disparities,” she said. “There are a lot of challenges due to the current political climate. However, knowing that I’m not only living history but helping make it propels me to keep moving forward.”
Her passion goes beyond the classroom and is exemplified in her dedicated volunteer service. Rodriguez-Gamez has been a shining example across the campus throughout her time at TXST. Some of her volunteer work includes assisting students and the community as part of the Office of the President Gold Star Society Ambassador, as well as the Honors College Stelos Scholars Program where she helped plan, implement, and paint six cross walks in downtown San Marcos to increase beautification and safety efforts.
Jimena Rodriguez-Gamez poses on the field at Bobcat Stadium.
She has also served as a mentor in the Terry Scholarship Program and has been part of a couple critical efforts to advocate for systemic change. These efforts included university-level research on chemical uses, and a summer internship with the California Fast Food Labor Union and the University of California Berkeley exploring the intersection of worker safety and consumer health within large fast-food chains.
Looking to the Future: “Si Se Puede”
So, what’s next for Rodriguez-Gamez? Working on exciting projects, she has a lot planned for the rest of her tenure with TXST and beyond. She currently works as a qualitative research assistant for Dr. Ny’Nika McFadden in HHP and is applying to the Master’s of Public Health (MPH) Occupational Safety and Health Graduate Programs.
“I want to help those who do work in manual labor and face language barriers have the reassurance that ‘si se puede [it is possible],’ to have a safer workplace,” she said. “Going into this field is motivating to me because most monolingual workers face high levels of workplace dangers. I’ll be able to aid a large population of people as most workers in this country, regardless of their legal and education status, work five days a week and for most of their life.”